--- advertisement ---

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Problem Solver

Have a problem and it seems like no one can help? Then put News13’s Problem Solver to work for you. We do more than just report problems, we work hard to help find solutions. News13’s Jerry Brown uses his journalistic experience to get you answers. See what Jerry has done for other Panhandle residents who needed help. Click below for past and present Problem Solver Stories.

jbrown@wmbb.com

Friday, April 04, 2008

Walton Motorists Complain About a Deteriorating Road

Some motorists have concerns about the condition of a heavily traveled Walton County road.  Over the years, the county has done patch work on the road… but, time, weather and other factors are making an uncomfortable ride gradually worse.  So, in this News 13 Problem Solver, we take a closer look at the issue and get the latest on any future plans to make changes for the better.

Chat Holley Road in Walton County was originally dirt.  Then pavement came back in 1988.  Motorists who use the road know it all too well.  “It is in pretty bad shape right now.  Pot holes are getting worse and worse and the pavement is worn out,” says Hank Weeks.  Walton County resident Debbie Harrigan tells us,”
“It is like its own little highway it takes us to the school over to the bridge.” I asked, “Is it aggravating dodging the potholes?  Harrigan says, “Yea, that’s a nice way of putting it.”

Chat Holley is a 3-mile connector road linking County Road 393 to U-S Road 331.  It would be considered a bypass for the 331-Highway 98 intersection. 
Walton county officials say it gets quite a large amount of traffic…more residential than it used to.

It is easy to see how motorists can get frustrated traveling Chat Holley Road.  It is bumpy.  So the question is…what can be done about the surface of this road and how will that happen?

Ryan Douglass is Walton County Public Works Construction Engineering Manager.  Douglass says, “Jerry, the situation here is where pavement is failing because of compressed muck underneath…a prime example of what we’re dealing with the entire length of the road.  So it’s not just here...this is elsewhere.  I wish it was a small problem.  One single spot we could fix, but it is not.” So I asked Douglass about any efforts to make the road better for motorists.  He says, “We would love to come out and fix this road with an overlay.  But the truth is, this road is well beyond overlay based on the fact the base is failing.”

Douglass says the county planning department has applied for two FDOT grants to be used for design, widening and right of way acquisition.  But, he says that may take a while to complete.  In the meantime, is there a plan to try to patch some of these?  Douglass told me, “We have made plans to come out and do some patching on it and try to improve it some.  But to be honest, without any significant base reclamation, we are just going to be dealing with pothole patching.”

Douglass says studies indicate it would take between one and a half to two and a half million dollars to reconstruct the road.  With budget cutting at the state capitol, that reconstruction may not be happening anytime soon.

News 13 also has information on another Walton County road of concern…that being Shelter Cove Drive in Santa Rosa Beach.  Ryan Douglass says the soft surface is in the process of being upgraded.  There is discussion on whether that road will eventually be paved.  But, there is no definite plan yet.

Problem Solver • (1) Comments • Permalink

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page 1 of 1 pages